As it turned out, Frigga's judgment had been wrong!
The battle did not end in just a few minutes!
After Thor stood frozen, then was dragged back to the palace gates by Sif and the others to pay his respects to Frigga. After Loki was beaten and strung up while Thor shouted curses at him! After Frigga rescued Loki and scolded Thor! And even after the common people of Asgard, led by Sigmund and the other legion commanders, had begun clearing the rubble from the city streets...
The fight still raged on!
By this point, Odin and Heisenberg had been fighting for a full hour and twenty minutes!
For over an hour, the rolling thunder and crashing impacts had never once stopped!
The ancient land of Asgard had been ravaged by the two of them across a vast swath of territory!
Heisenberg's body was marked with numerous wounds. Those wounds rapidly healed under the sunlight, only to reappear under Odin's attacks again, cycling endlessly without pause.
And Odin, as his body grew more and more battered under Heisenberg's fists, had no choice but to expend his precious divine power to repair his own form.
This fight had genuinely given Heisenberg the thrill of battle he craved!
It wasn't like before, where things ended after just a short exchange. Or where the enemy fell before he could even make a move!
A battle between equals made Heisenberg's blood run hot. His punching speed now was at least three times faster than it had been over an hour ago!
Heisenberg felt a certain heat spreading ceaselessly from deep within his bones. Some ancient power, drawn by this bloody struggle, was gradually revealing itself!
And that power was none other than the Rao bloodline he had exchanged for in the past!
In the ancient era, back when Krypton was not yet as mighty as it would become in the future, Rao, Flamebird, Nightwing, and a series of other Kryptonian old gods had relied purely on the most primal combat to lead and guide Krypton, generation after generation, toward prosperity and greatness!
But that challenge, that drive to fight embedded in the deepest part of life itself, gradually faded from the bones of Kryptonians once Krypton reached its peak!
Superman, Clark, had managed to compensate for this by continuously absorbing sunlight and had grown stronger time and again through battles and clashes with his enemies.
But Heisenberg, this outrageously brazen Kryptonian, was regaining that essence even faster than Superman.
After all, Superman always passively waited for trouble to find him. He would never have done what Heisenberg did, beating up virtually every powerful enemy of a comparable level in the Marvel Cinematic Universe within just a few short months.
If Clark had the chance to get a System, then come to the Marvel Universe... he'd probably first gather enough Genesis Matter to go home, then hurry back to protect Metropolis and spend time with Lois...
And our kind-hearted Clark would certainly never act like Heisenberg was right now, grabbing Odin by the neck, pinning this innocent old man to the ground, and relentlessly hammering him with punch after punch, beating him half to death!!!
Boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Just as Heisenberg had Odin pinned and had landed three or four consecutive punches, he finally sensed something was wrong.
He quickly looked at Odin, whose face was covered in blood.
And the moment Heisenberg stopped, Odin didn't continue the fight either!
Seeing the old man looking at him with a helpless gaze while gasping heavily for breath, Heisenberg finally understood.
He abruptly seized Odin's arm and hauled the old man, now bare-chested just like him, to his feet.
"Your divine power is running out?!!"
"Yes... huff... huff... I've gotten old..."
Odin panted heavily, replying to Heisenberg with a helpless tone.
Those words hit Heisenberg's ears, and he felt absolutely wretched!
The fight had been so exhilarating, so thrilling. The visceral pleasure of fist meeting flesh, the hot-blooded passion of pure physical confrontation...
Was it all just going to vanish, just like that?
"Your divine power runs out at the most crucial moment of the fight? This is just... this is completely...!!!"
Heisenberg let out a frustrated roar, then helplessly set Odin down, allowing the only old god currently worthy of his full strength to lean against a piece of rubble that could support him.
Odin shifted slightly, making his back more comfortable against the debris, then spoke to Heisenberg with equal helplessness.
"Such a pity... such an intense battle..."
He trailed off, weakly tilting his head back to look at the sun in the sky.
"How I wish I could have met you four thousand years ago. If that had happened, we could have fought for at least a week before deciding a victor!"
"A week... I doubt it. I think within two days I could have drained your strength. Surely you must have noticed by now, in that... state, your divine power regeneration is far slower than mine!"
Heisenberg countered, sitting down on the ground right next to Odin.
Just a minute ago they had been enemies, yet now the two could sit together and chat amicably.
That was the breadth of their spirit.
Hearing Heisenberg's words, Odin thought for a moment, then nodded.
"That is true..."
"Forget it, it doesn't matter either way. All in all, let's call today a draw, Odin!"
"Ha, are you offering me your pity, Heisenberg?"
"It's appreciation. It's rare to find someone who can fight me for this long."
"You didn't even use your full strength, Heisenberg! I had already exhausted all my trump cards. You witnessed five thousand years of my accumulation, you saw every method I possess. But I did not see yours."
Odin shook his head, dismissing Heisenberg's claim of a draw, then extended his right hand to the side.
In mere moments, in the far-off city of Asgard, everyone who had their eyes on Gungnir was stunned!
The spear that Odin had driven into the ground before the final battle began took flight on its own, streaking toward the distant dense forest!
Originally, when the thunderous booms and crashing impacts from afar had ceased, Thor and the others immediately guessed that the battle between Heisenberg and Odin had ended.
So they were all desperately concerned about who the true victor was!
And now, Gungnir had answered the call. Did that mean...
"Father is still alive!!!"
"Could His Majesty have won? How is that possible?"
"Bullshit! His Majesty could never fail!"
"This is a miracle! The master of Gungnir still lives!"
Thor and his group were instantly overjoyed, but on the side of Loki and Frigga, Frigga merely shook her head with a heavy heart.
"Odin lost, but he is not dead!"
As Frigga spoke, she cast a deep, meaningful look at Loki.
"The one you chose to follow is a magnanimous God-King, Loki!"
"Of course he's magnanimous, and merciful enough. Otherwise, I would have died at his hands long ago, Mother."
Loki responded with a smile, but the bitterness hidden beneath that smile was fully visible to Frigga.
How could the wise Frigga not know? Her son Loki had never been purely driven by betrayal and revenge.
So she reached out and gently patted Loki's shoulder.
"Don't rush to leave. Look upon him one last time, my child."
"Mm."
This time, Loki nodded with certainty, giving Frigga the answer she had hoped for.
Back in the mountain forest at that moment, Gungnir appeared in Odin's hand in a flash.
Odin gazed at the weapon that had accompanied him his entire life, his eyes filled with deep attachment. His gaze lingered on the spear for a very long time before he finally, with great difficulty, tore it away.
Then he extended his right hand toward Heisenberg and placed the spear before him.
"A divine spear that always strikes its target, perfectly suited for mighty beings like you and me! Take it, new God. This is your spoil of war!"
"Hmph."
Heisenberg nodded and unceremoniously accepted Odin's spear.
Gungnir, which had felt slightly heavy to him before, now seemed weightless in his grasp, easily wielded at his will.
Heisenberg sat there and swung Gungnir a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.
"It's quite impressive!" he declared.
That praise made Odin laugh heartily. As he laughed, he reached out and grabbed Heisenberg's left arm, murmuring softly to him.
"Asgard is yours now, future God-King. And I, at long last, no longer need to agonize over choosing an heir. After all, I have been overthrown by you, and therefore I have lost the right to select a successor!"
He spoke until this point, then weakly let his hand fall. After that, he just leaned there and quietly voiced the thoughts weighing on his heart.
"My life is bound to the realm of the dead across the Nine Realms. My eldest daughter was sealed there by me in the past. She would be a suitable queen for you, as you both delight in battle. And you are stronger, while my daughter knows how to respect the strong.
Ultimately, I could never use the methods against my children that I used against you. Nor could I subdue her anymore through conventional means. If not for that, she would never have conceived the idea of overthrowing me.
As for my current eldest son, Thor, he is a harmless fool. Though it pains me to say this, I truly did not raise him well. It was my failure.
I will speak with him. He will not become a problem for you. Let him live on, as ignorant and carefree as he has always been.
In exchange, everything I have is yours. My treasury, my weapons, my people, my realm. And the rune magic passed down through the Aesir for nearly a million years, it is all yours.
I can see the blood and bone within you. What blazes upon them is nothing short of the power of the sun.
But that power lacks guidance, new God! If you could obtain the sun runes of my Aesir, you would become even mightier!
In return, let my people live on in peace. They are foolish but also kind-hearted enough, the type of subjects rulers most favor. You will come to appreciate them, I am certain.
My youngest son, Loki, he is already yours. Do not burden him with heavy responsibilities, for he favors petty tricks like lies and deceit. Such things may have a chance at success, but they are never the qualities a true king like you or I requires!
Beware the Celestials. Beware the Five Great Gods. They are your true enemies. No one in the Nine Realms can hinder your steps, but you must never let that make you arrogant, for their gazes are ever fixed upon this place!
Midgard is the heart of the universe, the most precious location in all of creation. And because of that, I became a caged bird, the guardian of the universe's greatest treasure, trapped in the endlessly repeating Ragnarok, never finding a way to break free from the cycle of fate!
But you are different. Your potential is boundless. So continue to grow stronger. After you have become powerful enough, take my portion as well and utterly overthrow those Celestials who dictate your fate and mine!
I can see your ambition. Your sights are certainly not confined to the Nine Realms. But while Midgard is your starting point, it will not become your stronghold in the short term.
Go and receive my Berserker Legion, and Hela's Undead Legion as well. They will be your true foundation for conquering the universe!
Finally, I want to tell you this. All of this is neither a bargain of interests nor my mere advice. It is the plea of a dying old man. He does not plead for a throne, nor does he plead for vengeance. He only hopes that his three children may continue to live. He only hopes that his capable subordinates may shine in new positions, rather than become withered bones buried in the dirt that seeks to cover them."
Having spoken, Odin extended his trembling hand. Heisenberg immediately clasped Odin's hand in his own.
A moment later, Odin gazed at Heisenberg with eyes full of entreaty, and Heisenberg gave a firm nod.
"I promise you, Odin. Because you are a man worthy of respect. And the future you hope for will never see the slaughter you wish to avert. This is the promise of Heisenberg, and my word is ironclad!"
/-\
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